Guide

Pupil's guide to law student shadowing

Updated on 7 July 2023

Important guidance and advice for pupils who shadow a University of Dundee Law student.

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Your student shadowing day

Welcome to your Law Student Shadowing day! Please take some time to read through this document. It contains useful information and guidance about what to expect and what is expected of you during your shadowing day. You must ensure that you abide by the guidance in this document at all times.

What is a student shadowing day?

During a student shadowing day, a Reach pupil will accompany a current law student during their typical day at University. This will involve pupils attending lectures, tutorials, and the library etc. under the supervision of the law student. You may get to experience both lecture style and tutorial style teaching depending on your student’s timetable. Lecture style teaching involves a large number of students being taught by way of presentation. Tutorial teaching is far more interactive, with prepared exercises and a far smaller group of students present.

What are the benefits of a student shadowing day to pupils and students?

School pupils gain an invaluable insight into the practicalities of being a law student and learn about different teaching styles and the self-directed study required to study law. A significant impact of these experiences comes from introducing the pupil to the university environment and chatting to real students about their experiences. This gives the pupils a lot of motivation and confidence in their abilities to pursue a place at law school. Additionally, student shadowing days provide interesting experiences for the pupils to reflect on within their UCAS personal statements.

Law students also benefit from hosting a school pupil. Students enjoy the opportunity to share their experiences and help applicants. Some may also get the chance to do some ‘teaching’ depending on what their day involves. Many firms consider widening access to the profession to be one of their social responsibilities. This makes students who have participated in a widening access programme, such as Reach, very attractive to these firms as Trainee Solicitor.

During the sessions you may get the opportunity to participate in activities. Please remember that the law students you are with may be your future peers and the academic staff may be your future leaders. It is very important that you engage with these sessions to the best of your ability. This is a great opportunity for you to network and get to know law professionals who could help you with your future careers. The people you will meet have all volunteered to host you for the day so will be very keen to help and advise you.

Dress code

The dress code for shadowing days is smart-casual. This means that you do not have to wear your school uniform if you do not wish to, though please ensure that you do look smart. Your appearance contributes to the impression which people have of you. First impressions count!

Examples of unacceptable garments include, but are not limited to, shorts, overly tight or revealing clothes or items of clothing bearing inappropriate slogans.

On the morning of your visit

Our students have kindly volunteered to take you along to their classes. These classes are timetabled and the student’s attendance at classes is compulsory. Late coming is not acceptable. Students are expected to be on time for their classes, which means that they cannot wait for you if you are not on time.

If you have any problems on the morning of your visit please contact the student who is hosting you in the first instance – their details are in the log form. If you do not manage to make contact with the student then please call Jan on +44 (0)1382 381899. Your shadowing day could be cancelled if you are late and you do not inform us.

Safety arrangements

Ensure that you are aware of all safety arrangements within all of the buildings that you are visiting. Ask your student to alert you to the fire exits and meeting points. You must stay with your student host at all times. If you are unsure of anything at any time then ask your student or the lecturer in charge.

Professionalism

Members of the legal profession are regarded to be in privileged positions. This means that they must take a professional attitude to all areas of their practice and their private lives. Law students must also do this. We expect you to act professionally by:

  • Responding promptly to all correspondence between your student mentor and yourself;
  • Paying attention and engaging in all classes which you are scheduled to attend;
  • Being respectful to other students and staff who you may interact with.

Feedback and incident reporting

We always welcome your feedback on the student shadowing days. We want to hear about your experiences with the student. If you have any suggestions on how we can improve on our processes please let us know. Feedback forms will be sent to you via email after your student shadowing day.

Should any incident occur during your student shadowing, or if you any cause for concern then please let Amy know (reach@dundee.ac.uk).

Reflection

This opportunity will give you an insight into studying law at university. By participating in this shadowing visit, you are showing that you are actively taking an interest in studying your course and that you understand the work necessary to succeed.

How to make the most of your student shadowing day - reflections

If you are applying to University this year, we strongly advise that you discuss your student shadowing experience in your UCAS personal statement. We have included a short reflection form in this guidance. You may find answering the following questions to be useful in reflecting on your experience. You should try to answer the questions as fully as possible. These questions will give you an idea of the level of reflection needed in your personal statement. Remember, admissions tutors are keen to know what research you have done on your chosen courses. It is also important to relate what you have gained from this experience directly to why you should be successful in your application. Use the questions below to make some memorable notes.

What classes did you attend?

What teaching styles did you experience?

Which buildings did you visit and what facilities did you use?

What did you learn about studying at University?

What did you learn about studying law at University?

What skills did you use and develop during your day?

Were there any skills which you felt you could improve before beginning your degree?

How are you going to improve these?

What part of your day did you enjoy the most and why?

Enquiries

Amy Stewart

Reach Project Officer

+44 (0)1382 388900

reach@dundee.ac.uk